This invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing cupped noodles which can be served soon after hot water has been poured thereinto.
Japanese Utility Model Publication Nos. 4088/64 and 26930/69 teach preparing instant noodles by housing a fried mass of noodles together with proper condiments and ingredients in a bowl-shaped container made of foamed synthetic resin. These prior art processes are defective in that the mass of noodles tends to be broken into pieces at least partially because it is moved within the container by vibration during transport, or the like.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 38693/75 discloses a method of producing instant noodles, which is intended to remove the above-noted difficulty. In addition, the method disclosed is effective for preventing the condiments and ingredients from moving downward through the clearance between the mass of fried noodles and the inner wall of the container. The method of this Japanese Patent Publication comprises the steps of disposing a mass of raw noodles in a metal cup, placing a metal lid to cover the opening of the metal cup, immersing the metal cup in a frying oil, taking the fried mass of noodles from the metal cup, drying the fried mass of noodles, packing the dried mass of noodles together with proper condiments and ingredients in a cup-shaped container substantially equal in shape to and slightly larger in inner diameter than the metal cup, and sealing the container. In this case, the metal cup housing the mass of raw noodles is immersed upright in the frying oil, namely, immersed such that the metal lid is positioned at the upper end of the metal cup, resulting in that the fried mass of noodles is rendered sparse in the portion close to the bottom of the metal cup and dense in the portion close to the metal lid. Further, the fried mass of noodles is packed in the cup-shaped container such that the dense and sparse portions are disposed in upper and lower portions of the container, respectively. This gives rise to the drawbacks that the sparse lower portion of the mass of noodles is weak against shocks applied from below the container and that the dense upper portion renders it somewhat difficult for hot water to flow downward rapidly.